Exercises of ISO Certification Examination for Vibration Experts

Abstract

According to ISO 18436-2, entitled “Condition monitoring and diagnostics of machines—Requirements for training and certification of personnel—Part 2: Vibration condition monitoring and diagnostics,” the introduction of the certification examination for vibration experts is mentioned. The certification level is divided into four categories: 1—for beginners; 2—for elemental experts (apprentices); 3—for advanced experts; and 4—for super-experts. This chapter, including 100 questions, is prepared for ambitious experts challenging categories 3, 4, and higher. Every question requires knowledge strongly related to basic engineering mathematics, practical signal processing, vibrational dynamics theory, standard modal analysis, model order reduction, and so forth. It excludes knowledge gained purely from experience. If you are students, it is a good opportunity to know how to apply undergraduate knowledge to the field. If you are vibration consultants, apply these simple and understandable modeling techniques in troubleshooting for your customers. Based on the experience of one of the authors as a JSME (Japan) examiner, he found that questions of the examination are divided approximately into two groups. The first group includes questions related to knowledge of field experience in the maintenance service, for example, permissible vibration levels decided by API and/or ISO standards, how to measure and report vibration data, and so on. The second group involves questions concerning mathematics and dynamics, for example, rotor balancing, the FFT algorithm, modal analysis, applying complex numbers. Many examinees may have difficulty to recall and manage the theoretical background for questions if they graduated some time ago. A total of 100 questions have been selected, specifically to enrich an expert’s understanding of the mathematics and dynamics for them. The following advises the reader on how to use this chapter:

• (1) Questions 1–30: The first 30 are multiple choice questions with five options. It is in the same style as the certification exam; hence, examinees can check their level. The actual exam contains 100 questions in a 4–5 h period. Therefore, it is recommended that you complete these 30 questions within 60 min.

  Finally, check your answers with the correct answers in Table Q30, located in Sect. 12.1.

• (2) Questions 31–100: The aim of these questions is to sharpen examinees’ thinking, so the questions may be slightly beyond their knowledge. On average, the difficulty of these questions is almost equivalent to vibration category level 3 and 4; some may be near category 4 and higher. Do not be afraid to try these questions to test your knowledge. From Question 31 onwards, the content is divided into two ways: Questions stated in Sect. 12.2 with answers and hints associated with each question in Sect. 12.3.

Please try these exercises, which challenge readers to become world-leading experts in the rotor dynamic vibration field.